Website structure is much like the structure of a house which gives it a proper shape, right balance, usability, and stability. Search engines use site structure to find, crawl and rank your website content.
You can’t rank high in Google if its crawlers are not able to find your site. Google indexes the websites which give visitors the information they are looking for and optimize with best SEO practices.
If you want to develop a website that ranks high on Google, you need to make sure it has a solid site structure that helps in search engine optimization. And in this blog, eSearch Logix will tell you how to create an SEO-friendly website structure that Google likes.
What is Website Structure?
Website structure is how different pages of a website are interlinked and structured together. A good site structure helps users and search engines crawl easily and find what exactly they are looking for on a website.
Site structure makes it easy for visitors to easily navigate through your website and move through your web pages in search of new content, which eventually enhances website SEO ranking.
What Are the Different Types of Website Structures?
- Flat site structure: Flat websites are designed in a way that allows search engines and users to navigate with just a few clicks from the homepage.
- Deep site structure: This is a deep-level web design that takes a longer time to find certain information on the site.
- Hierarchical model: It is the most common website structure that has a simple Hierarchical model.
- Sequential model: This website structure is designed to lead the user through a defined process step by step.
- Matrix model: This model is the oldest site structure which allows users wherever they want to go.
- Database model: It is a flexible approach to website structure that focuses on the metadata of individual pages, solid information architecture, and taxonomic techniques.
How to Create an SEO-Friendly Website Structure That Google Likes
1. Build an SEO-Friendly URL Structure
Before you start the website development process, you must have a domain name to host your site on a server. This domain is basically a URL that informs search engines crawlers what your website is about and makes it easy to index.
Here, you should focus on main categories and product pages to rank top on Google SERPs. Don’t make a structure where one page is accessible via five different links. Try to have a unique URL for every web page. To ensure you build an SEO-friendly URL structure, make sure it:
- Concise
- Contain a keyword
- Doesn’t have redundant words
- Contain hyphens to separate words with punctuation
eSearch Logix recommends you follow a simple approach in the URL structure. Google says that an overly complex URL that contains multiple parameters may cause problems for crawlers by making unnecessarily high numbers of URLs. As a result, Google bot may consume much more bandwidth than necessary and then be unable to index your website content.
2. Create a Solid Site Hierarchy
The hierarchy of a website is the system that arranges web pages from top to bottom and needs to prioritize web sections and topics. Review the main resources which can help your visitors make conversions and bring in revenue. A page that is your main product may be placed on the top of the hierarchy.
To create a good site hierarchy, you should simplify the navigation by incorporating the best practices. Make a predictable website structure with a logical hierarchy focusing on top-level pages and relevant subpages.
Begin with the homepage at the top of the funnel and lay out the category pages according to their importance and then their relevant subcategories. In this way, you will have a solid hierarchy that will make your website easier to navigate for visitors and let Google crawl quickly.
3. Choose the Right Navigational Depth
Google likes a website that has easy navigation because it indicates how user-friendly the website is. Therefore, choosing the right navigational depth is important to determine how difficult it is to click on a certain part of the website.
The navigational or click depth should provide sufficient options to visitors while reducing the excessive number of categories. Try to have a low navigation depth to make your site SEO-friendly.
Here, we recommend using the flat structure which doesn’t proceed deeper than the second tier of folders. However, in eCommerce website design, you can go to the deeper level according to the requirement of product pages.
4. Use Breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs are the ordered trail or short navigation menus which generally displayed on pages further away from the home page and help users get around your site. However, many web designers ignore using Breadcrumbs in their website navigation.
But if you pay attention to the Top Website Development Company USA, they consider breadcrumbs as one of the main factors in a site structure that force you to think logically and give a clear and SEO-focused website secure rather than a complex one. Breadcrumbs serve as directions that explain your location and Google responds to it positively.
5. Create Good Internal Linking
Top SEO professionals consider internal linking as the highly crucial part of website structure because it gives a clear picture to Google of what your website has to offer. Having a good internal linking in website structure shows the relationship between pages and content on your site.
It enables crawlers to understand the website content and support differences in ranking on search results pages for similar content. Hence, you should make sure a thorough network of links across your site and try to link to your all-main pages.
6. Focus on Website Security and User Experience
Both Google and users give first priority to security. No matter how fancy your website design is if it lacks security features Google and users will not appreciate your site.
Google gives priority to websites with an HTTPS protocol in search engine rankings. Many users also prefer browsing websites that have HTTPS at the beginning of the URL to avoid scams and malicious websites.
Sometimes web developers also perform few security mistakes that put a website at risk. That is why it is essential to ensure complete security. Use SSL certificate and HTTPS protocol. Maintain consistency throughout your website and make a structure that doesn’t change drastically from one page to the next.
Conclusion
Google likes a website structure that is simple in architecture, provides easy navigation and includes sound internal linking that allows its crawlers to find the right content what users are looking for. If you can create such a site structure, it will automatically enable your website to rank on the top of SEO rankings.
And eSearch Logix can guide you on how to achieve this possible. We are a decade-old website development company in India. Our team is equipped with highly experienced SEO experts, digital marketers, and certified web developers who have developed many successful websites for global businesses.
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